{"id":303428,"date":"2023-12-15T13:16:06","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T19:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=303428"},"modified":"2023-12-15T20:24:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-16T02:24:07","slug":"aged-genovese-capo-convicted-of-extorting-restaurateur-for-gambling-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/aged-genovese-capo-convicted-of-extorting-restaurateur-for-gambling-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"Aged \u2018Genovese Capo\u2019 Convicted of Extorting Restaurateur Over Gambling Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"

An octogenarian alleged New York mobster has been convicted of extortion after shaking down a Manhattan restaurateur for a gambling debt.<\/p>\n

\"Anthony
Anthony \u2018Rom\u2019 Romanello attending a federal court hearing in Brooklyn earlier this month. The reputed Mobster, 86, faces up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced in 2024. (Image: New York Daily News<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anthony \u201cRom\u201d Romanello<\/a>, 86, a reputed Genovese capo<\/a>, was found guilty of extortionate collection of credit and conspiracy to commit the same by a Brooklyn federal jury on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\n

Prosecutors claimed Romanello was hired, along with co-defendant Joseph Celso,\u00a0reputedly a Genovese soldier, to put the frighteners on Shuqeri \u201cBruno\u201d Selimaj, owner of the now-defunct Lincoln Square Steak restaurant on Manhattan\u2019s Upper West Side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Selimaj\u2019s nephew and his nephew\u2019s brother-in-law owed an $86K gambling debt to alleged Mob associate and aspiring Albanian film star Luan Bexheti. Romanello and Celso wanted Selimaj to make good on the debt.<\/p>\n

The pair \u201cused threats and violence\u201d against Selimaj in \u201crepeated attempts\u201d attempts to collect the debt, according to prosecutors. On their third visit to the restaurant, Romanello was caught on camera punching Selimaj in the face.<\/p>\n

Court Testimony\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Romanelli\u2019s lawyer, Jerry McMahon, attempted to convince jurors that Selimaj and his client were old acquaintances who had simply got into a drunken disagreement.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t punch Bruno to collect a gambling debt,\u201d McMahon argued. \u201cBruno told him that he was a washed-up Italian, that he had no balls, that he was nothing. He punched him, that 86-year-old guy sitting there. He punched him because Bruno insulted him to his face.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Selimaj spoke to police after the assault but retracted his statement the next day and paid off his relatives\u2019 debts. He testified in court that he did this out of fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was afraid this Mafia guy was going to hurt me, my nephew,\u201d Selimaj said. \u201cI was afraid because nobody jokes with the Mafia \u2026 It was no joke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albanian Gangster <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bexheti pleaded guilty to the same charges in October 2023 and awaits sentencing. Highlights of his acting career to date include providing the voice of \u201cAlbanian gangster\u201d in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV before landing a minor role in the 2018 low-budget indie flick “Albanian Gangster.” He also once bombed<\/a> performing stand-up at the New York Comedy Club.<\/p>\n

\n

Celso was convicted Tuesday on a conspiracy extortion charge and faces up to 20 years in prison. In 1993, he was charged with the murder of Manuel Mayi, a Queens College student from the Dominican Republic. He was acquitted after the prosecution\u2019s star witness left the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When sentenced in March, Romanello faces a maximum of 40 years in prison.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An octogenarian alleged New York mobster has been convicted of extortion after shaking down a Manhattan restaurateur for a gambling debt. Anthony \u201cRom\u201d Romanello, 86, a reputed Genovese capo, was found guilty of extortionate collection of credit and conspiracy to commit the same by a Brooklyn federal jury on Tuesday. Prosecutors claimed Romanello was hired, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":303429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,60],"tags":[89165,89168,89166,89167],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAged \u2018Genovese Capo\u2019 Convicted of Extorting Restaurateur for Gambling Debt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Anthony \u201cRom\u201d Romanello, 86, faces 40 years in prison after extorting Shuqeri \u201cBruno\u201d Selimaj over gambling debt.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/aged-genovese-capo-convicted-of-extorting-restaurateur-for-gambling-debt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Aged \u2018Genovese Capo\u2019 Convicted of Extorting Restaurateur for Gambling Debt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Anthony \u201cRom\u201d Romanello, 86, faces 40 years in prison after extorting Shuqeri \u201cBruno\u201d Selimaj over gambling debt.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/aged-genovese-capo-convicted-of-extorting-restaurateur-for-gambling-debt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-15T19:16:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-16T02:24:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Rom-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"569\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/aged-genovese-capo-convicted-of-extorting-restaurateur-for-gambling-debt\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/aged-genovese-capo-convicted-of-extorting-restaurateur-for-gambling-debt\/\",\"name\":\"Aged \u2018Genovese Capo\u2019 Convicted of Extorting Restaurateur for Gambling Debt\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/aged-genovese-capo-convicted-of-extorting-restaurateur-for-gambling-debt\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/aged-genovese-capo-convicted-of-extorting-restaurateur-for-gambling-debt\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Rom-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-15T19:16:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-16T02:24:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Anthony \u201cRom\u201d Romanello, 86, faces 40 years in prison after extorting Shuqeri \u201cBruno\u201d Selimaj over gambling debt.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/aged-genovese-capo-convicted-of-extorting-restaurateur-for-gambling-debt\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/aged-genovese-capo-convicted-of-extorting-restaurateur-for-gambling-debt\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/aged-genovese-capo-convicted-of-extorting-restaurateur-for-gambling-debt\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Rom-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Rom-1.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":569,\"caption\":\"Anthony \u2018Rom\u2019 Romanello attending a federal court hearing in Brooklyn earlier this month. 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